This invention relates to a card item stacker for use in automatically stacking card items along a predetermined direction with each card item directed substantially vertically.
As will later be described with reference to figures of accompanying drawings, a conventional card item stacker of the type described generally comprises a base member for stacking card items fed by a card feeder and a conveyor slidable on the base member for conveying stacked card items in a predetermined sense of a predetermined direction. The conveyor comprises an endless belt which has teeth spaced apart on a belt surface. The card item stacker stacks the card items along the predetermined direction with the card items substantially vertically held on the endless belt. When the card item stacker is filled with the card items, the stacked card items are taken out by hand.
In the conventional card item stacker, lower edges of the stacked card items are often firmly engaged with the teeth. Therefore, all of the stacked card items can not readily and completely be disengaged from the teeth on lifting up the stacked card items.